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I am a novice with piano knowledge, to say the least (besides what I've read from Larry Fine). My wife has always wanted a baby grand player piano, and I'm thinking of surprising her with one. She does play a little herself, and she's an interior designer so it has to look great too. And for her, name-recognition is important too. Our budget is $8000 for a 4'11" - 5'3" piano. What are your impressions and experiences with the following pianos...?

1) Wurlitzer w/ Concert Master by Baldwin - 1999 - $7500 firmThe piano is beautiful and sounds great, but I don't know if my wife can overlook the very large player system and remote that is supposed to sit on top of the piano.

2) Young Chang Signature series JJ Pramberger - approx 8-10 years old - Pianodisc 2000+ QRS player - Korean made - $7500 firmThe piano needs some cosmetic work. There are swirl marks on the polished ebony finish, as well as one corner of the casing being chipped. Also, one of the keys sticks in the down position when the player function is on, and the key does not stick when a person plays it. The seller is willing to polish the case, fix the chip and the sticking key.

3) Samick with QRS Petine player - Korean from 1995 - 1997Original price $8900 on consignment at a store. After more inquiring, the price is now $7900. The piano appears to be in great shape and sounds good.

Of course, any one that I choose I will have an independent specialist appraise and inspect it.

Which model of pianos are they? You've given us details about the player systems, but the model, size, and year of the pianos themselves are also important.

The new wireless interfaces are a big improvement (iQ by PianoDisc; the latest QRS systems). The Petine can be easily upgraded; PianoDisc can if the player system has SilentDrive (ask). The ConcertMaster is the very first player system with a remote.

Consider that it costs $5,000 to $6,000 to add a player system to any existing piano, so at $8K you're looking at used pianos. The electronics have gone through dramatic improvements in ten or fifteen years, obviously a much bigger difference than the pianos have. Player pianos tend to have more wear, just because they're used more.

If you save up about $10K, you can get a brand-new piano like a Hallet, Davis with the system installed. New piano, new electronics.

I think the best deal at this point is to give your wife a "music box" piano with a card explaining that you will shop buy a real piano between Christmas and New Year. That way you still have the surprise element and can take advantage of post-holiday sales.

I think if I primarily wanted something that looked like a piano and plays music and that I could occasionally play it myself, I would be looking at a digital in a grand piano form. Good luck in your search.